Reunion
by movinggirl
Summary: James and Lily Potter have had to learn everything about their son through people who have died and come Above. But after 100 long years on Earth, Harry's finally at the Gate. Now James and Lily will get to meet their son, for the very first time.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Harry Potter. Jo Rowling does.**

**P.S. sorry to anyone who gets a notification, but after someone commented on the confusion of switching scenes, I realized my little line-scene-seperator-thingys didn't load from my word document to Fanfiction! So, I fixed it. Hope it makes it easier to understand. :)**

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

"Padfoot!" James yelled. "Watch out!"

Sirius Black was not paying attention to the Bludger flying straight towards him; instead he was watching Alyssa, his old girlfriend before she had been killed by Death Eaters.

Sirius turned at the last second, only to see the Bludger hit his broomstick. The broom spiraled and Sirius just managed to hang on. James Potter laughed; a laugh that could only be brought on by one thing: being with the Marauders. Well, the _true_ Marauders.

"Moony! How could you hit that Bludger at me?" Sirius screamed, his long black hair flying around him as he attempted to get up.

"You should have been paying attention," calmly replied Remus, a smile on his young, pain-free face.

Sirius growled in irritation but couldn't help a smile as he struggled to get back on his broom. Eventually, Remus took pity on him and went to help. James, still chuckling, looked around. Alyssa was talking with her old roommate at Hogwarts, Marlene McKinnon. They were also Lily's ex dorm mates, but James didn't see her…He looked around some more, hoping to see where his wife was.

She was off a little way, walking and talking with Snape. James tried not to get irritated; after all, you couldn't really hate someone after he risked his life for years trying to protect your son. _Even if he is madly in love with your wife_, James thought irritably. When Snape had first arrived, James didn't really think anything of it; he had never been friends with Sniv—Snape, and he didn't want to be. But then Snape kept apologizing and Lily forgave him; even James could see how regretful and sincere Snape was, even though it was his fault from the beginning. James did have to admit though, without Snape their son would not be alive. Snape risked everything for Lily, even though she had chosen James over Snape.

James tried not to think about when he and Lily had first arrived. But however often he tried to keep the memories out, it seemed like it had happened only a little while ago. He still remembers the cold fear that entered his body when he realized Voldemort had entered his house; the blood pounding through his body as he stood up, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect Lily and Harry. James can still feel the gut-wrenching betrayal as he had when he realized what Wormtail had done to him, to them; the overwhelming sadness as he realized he wouldn't be able to raise his son with Lily...

* * *

James heard the words come out of the snake-man's mouth, saw the green light, and all he remembers thinking was, _'Hopefully Padfoot doesn't make Harry too much of a rebel raising him.' _Then he couldn't help but smile at the thought of Sirius Black raising a kid, even though James hated the thought that he wouldn't be able to do it.

James arrived at the big, golden Gate. The Gate glimmered and sparkled like gold, yet somehow James knew it never needed to be polished or cleaned. He looked around; it seemed as though he was on a giant, never ending cloud. He looked past the gates and saw that there were little houses for everyone to live in, along with an area full of trees and flowers. Off in the distance, there was a mini Quidditch pitch; something James couldn't be without, dead or alive. He couldn't help but smile again. This was exactly how he pictured Heaven to look when he was a little 5 year old boy.

_Lily still isn't here_, James mused. _That must be a good thing. If he was going to just kill her as soon as he saw her (like with me), she would have been here by now._ Hoping and praying Lily wouldn't follow him, that she would be able to save her and Harry, James waited. But only a few moments after the thought crossed his mind, the voice said "Lily Evans Potter" and James's beautiful redheaded wife appeared next to him with a little 'pop'. Lily looked around and saw James, then broke down into tears. All she could say was, "I tried, James. I tried to get him to stop. I tried, but he wouldn't listen."

James told Lily it wasn't her fault; it wasn't anyone's fault but "that bastard with a snake face." Lily couldn't help but quietly laugh when he said this. So together they waited. They sat and waited for Harry. They don't know how long they did, since Time doesn't exist where they had ended up, but they waited for quite a bit. At first, this made Lily sob even harder; she thought it meant Voldemort was drawing it out, not making it quick and painful. Yet Harry still hadn't arrived. They waited and waited, until James finally said, "We should go through the Gate. We'll hear when he comes." But Harry didn't come.

They went through the gates and saw everyone they had missed while on Earth: James's parents, Lily's parents, Marlene, Alyssa, the Prewetts, everyone. Eventually, they heard a calm, magically magnified voice that could be heard everywhere announce that a very old lady with the name of Margaret Cauty had died in her sleep. At first, James and Lily didn't think anything of it, but then a very young looking woman had come running towards them. She shook their hands and kept saying, "Thank you, thank you. I'm so glad to have seen the world at peace again before I died."

Lily looked at the lady questioningly. "What are you talking about? You just died. How was the world at peace?" she said, assuming the person in front of her was Margaret.

Margaret's jaw dropped as she looked from James to Lily, Lily to James. "But you don't KNOW?" she cried.

"Know what?" asked James, feeling very irritated that he had no idea what this lady was talking about.

"But, your son! He's the Boy-Who-Lived! He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named tried to kill him, but he couldn't! Instead, You-Know-Who disappeared, vanished! He's gone! Your son stopped and defeated You-Know-Who!"

Lily and James stared at each other, Lily's green eyes sparkling with tears.

"Our son?" croaked James.

"Yes, Harry Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived, the reason it's all over!" And with that, the lady ran off with surprising speed, off to find her loved ones.

James couldn't believe it…his son…He then picked Lily up, spun her though the air and kissed her full on the mouth. "Our Harry!" he exclaimed.

* * *

And so it continued on. James and Lily had to hear about Harry through people who had died, but no one ever really knew much since he had gone to live with Lily's Muggle sister and brother-in-law for 10 years. Except for the TriWizard Tournament and Harry returning with the body of a dead student and claiming that Voldemort had returned, not very many people had known about Harry's school life.

But one day while Lily and James were reminiscing about all the pranks James pulled on Lily in school, they heard the announcement.

"I was so mad at you!" Lily had exclaimed, "You had turned my hair bright green, said it complimented my eyes, and then proceeded to ask me out!"

James couldn't stop laughing. "Sirius said it would be funny!"

Just as he thought of his old friend and felt the familiar twinge in his stomach, "Sirius Black, 35, murdered, Bellatrix Black Lestrange," could be heard by everyone.

James's jaw dropped; Sirius? Murdered? But…who would take care of Harry? Then another thought entered his mind: _Sirius. Here. _James took off on a dead sprint, only bothering to shout over his shoulder, "Come on, Lily! Sirius is here!"

James slowed down only when his friend was about 20 yards away. Sirius looked young; about seventeen and just as handsome as he had been their seventh year of Hogwarts. But he also looked sad and a little lost. _Slightly irritated too_, thought James. _Probably because Bellatrix killed him. He's probably mad he didn't finish her off first. He always hated that bitch of a cousin. _

James remembered the Marauders pulling a prank on Bellatrix their fifth year. They had changed her robes and hair to be red and gold and she couldn't stop singing 'Gryffindor is the best! Slytherin is for prats! Gryffindor is the best! Slytherin is for prats!' The charms eventually wore off, after about six hours. James couldn't help but laugh at the memory of Bellatrix's face when she realized it was Sirius that had thought of the idea.

The laugh seemed to have reached Sirius, because he suddenly looked up and spotted James. James felt his insides clench, what if Sirius was mad at him? What if Sirius changed after all those years? What if Sirius didn't want to be friends with James after everything?

"James?" said Sirius barely above a whisper.

"Sirius?" said James, his voice cracking.

"PRONGS!" Sirius shouted out, his face breaking into a grin that made his whole face light up.

"PADFOOT!" James shouted back, laughing at his own stupidity and his best mate's expression.

They both ran at each other at the same time, and Sirius practically tackled James. "Prongs! I missed you! Oh God. Life's so boring without you. I can't believe you left me for so long! There was no one to pull pranks or have late night flying motorcycle rides with!" Sirius practically screamed in James's ear. "I missed you, mate…" He said the last sentence at a whisper; James could plainly hear the truth behind the sentence.

James hugged Sirius back. "I know, I know."

Sirius looked up and saw Lily standing back, watching the pair with a smile on her face. "LILY-FLOWER!" Sirius shouted and laughed, holding his arm out for her to come hug him. Lily broke out into a bigger smile and ran to hug Sirius. James joined the hug, happy to finally have his two favorite people in the world together with him again.

The three reuniting friends were walking away from the huge, golden Gate when James said, "Man, I can't believe your bitch of a cousin was the one who killed you!"

"I know. I hope Moony will get her back with his 'furry little problem'", he half-jokingly said with a smirk and an exaggerated wink.

"Can you imagine Bellatrix having to tell Voldemort she's now a werewolf?" James said.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. James couldn't help but laugh either. They both knew Moony would never wish for someone else to become a werewolf, let alone do it himself. But it was still funny for them to think of ways to mess with a Slytherin, almost as if they were back in their 4th year of Hogwarts.

Sirius told the Potters everything he knew about Harry and what he had done, from when "that rat of a 'friend' betrayed us all" to when Sirius had fallen through the veil. James Potter had never felt prouder of anything or anyone in his life and all he could say was, "Coolest. Son. EVER."

* * *

After Sirius had died, things had gotten easier for James. He still missed Moony and Harry more than anything, but it got easier now that he had his best mate back. Lily was able to hang out with her friends, without having to feel guilty about leaving James alone. James and Sirius also couldn't help but pull a prank or two. Just because they were dead, doesn't mean they couldn't have some fun!

Soon, more and more people were joining James, Sirius, Lily, and the others. The worst shock was when the calm and clear voice said "Albus Dumbledore, 116, killed, Severus Snape." Through their shock, the three managed to head over to see Dumbledore, but apparently everyone else wanted to see Dumbledore too. After what felt like forever to James, he got to see Dumbledore.

He was still Dumbledore, although he was much younger than James had ever seen him. Dumbledore saw the three adults standing together and said, "Hello James, Lily, and Sirius." He gave them all a brief grandfatherly hug, something they had not gotten very often from their old headmaster. The once old man proceeded to say, "Harry misses you all so much. But he is growing into a fine, fine boy. He looks just like you, James," inclining his head to the man with the messy black hair. "But he still has your eyes, Lily, exactly your eyes. Something almost everyone feels the need to tell him," he chuckled. Lily had a proud smile on her face, but James noticed that her eyes also watered at the same time.

"And he still misses his godfather," he said with a sad smile towards Sirius. "Your absence has greatly affected him this year. Yet, it has made him stronger, more determined."

Sirius gave a forced smile. To James, it looked like Sirius was feeling…guilt?

Dumbledore had then taken the three adults on a walk and told them everything. He told them about Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Horcruxes, Severus Snape and his loyalties, and Harry and his journey, past and present. James's head was spinning. After everything Harry had been through, he had to die? But…he had come so far. Yet it was the end? And as much as James hated missing everything in Harry's life, he still wanted Harry to have a life! He wanted Harry to get married, have kids, and grow old! He wanted Harry to have the life that James never got to finish…the life he gave up _for_ Harry. It seemed like a load of rubbish!

With a turn of his head, James noticed Lily and Sirius must have been thinking the same things.

Dumbledore must have understood all of their feelings, for he very seriously said, "I wouldn't worry too much if I was you; Harry's a brave boy— man. He'll do the right thing. And sometimes, that can make all the difference."

Everyone then noticed that a little blonde girl was standing off to the side. She impatiently said, "Come on, Albus!"

Albus Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eyes and laughed as he said, "Coming, Ariana."

* * *

After that, deaths had become more common, less of a shock. But one death was still a giant shock to Lily: Severus Snape's.

Lily had gone to find Snape, but James stayed back; he figured she needed to talk to him first. That and he didn't really want to see or talk to Snape. Sirius agreed. From what Lily later told James, Snape apologized over a hundred times. He said that he's made the biggest mistakes of his life involving her and he'd do anything to change it. Lily forgave him.

James smiled wryly when Lily told him this. _Of course Lily forgave him. That's something Lily would do, for anyone_, James thought. _And that's one of the reasons why I love her._

James did eventually have to face Snape though. Surprisingly, Snape even apologized to James. When Snape opened his mouth, directing whatever he was going to say to James, James was expecting a harsh sounding, "Potter".

But instead he heard a regretful voice start to say, "Potter…I'm sorry. For everything. It's my fault-all my fault…" Snape's voice caught in his throat, and it appeared that he again realized what exactly he had done.

All James could think was, _'Sni—Snape…is apologizing…to me?'_ Out of the corners of his black eyes, Snape looked at Lily, who was expectantly looking at James for his response. Snape's eyes filled with remorse, loss, and…love? It then hit James like a Bludger to the head; Snape loved Lily more than anything else. He loved her enough to risk his life and to apologize to the man he probably hated more than anything.

James couldn't help but feel angry at this revelation and want to hex Snape, even though he didn't have his wand. He had after all been in love with Lily for four years before she had finally gone out with him! And even though he annoyed and irritated her, he had NEVER called her a…you-know-what! James was the one who married her and protected her, the one who died for her and the kid they had together! Although at the thought of Harry, James remembered all the things Snape had done to help him. Snape stopped Quirrell from getting the Philosopher's Stone and killing Harry in his first Quidditch game; agreed to become a triple spy when Voldemort returned; joined the Order of the Phoenix to bring down Voldemort; and attempted to make sure Sirius was safe at Grimmauld Place to stop Harry from going to the Ministry of Magic (even though his attempt failed). Snape continued to risk his life being a spy for Dumbledore and had probably done so much more for Harry that James had not heard of.

So as much as James disliked the greasy haired man in front of him, he knew Snape was one of the bravest men ever (even though he just did it for Lily) and that he owed his son's life to him.

"Er, I forgive you, Snape. _We_ forgive you. Thank you, though. For Harry. Thanks…er, Severus. And…I'm sorry…for everything," said James.

Snape looked up in shock and gratitude.

From the look Lily was giving him, James knew that was exactly what she wanted.

Much to James's relief, however, Lily and Snape did not become best friends as they had been when school started. They would talk and visit occasionally, but Snape mostly kept to himself, occasionally hanging out with his mother or Regulus Black, who Sirius was shocked (but secretly very happy) to see up Here, instead of down There.

Things only got more bittersweet from then on.

An announcement eventually came that said Fred Weasley was also murdered. Lily and James knew he was friends with Harry, and Sirius knew Fred, so they all went to see him at the Gate. But only a moment later when they had started walking back with Fred, they heard "Remus Lupin, 37, murdered, Antonin Dolohov."

"Remus?" all three of the friends said at the same time. Fred continued on to find his grandparents, but the others ran off towards the Gate. Standing there, like so many others, was Remus Lupin, looking sad, lonely, and confused.

"MOONY!" Sirius and James shouted, causing Remus to look up in shock, until a huge smile graced his face. They ran to each other, just as Sirius and James had ran to one another those many moments ago; running as if they couldn't run fast enough, jumping and hugging as if they would never get another moment too. Lily eventually joined in the group hug, laughing along as she saw the three mischievous 11 year old boys in the faces of the three men.

Everything was going well, until a small 'pop' occurred behind them and, "Nymphadora Tonks Lupin, 26, murdered, Bellatrix Lestrange," rang out loud. Remus had a horrible expression on his face, one that might suggest this announcement caused him physical pain. James wasn't too sure why, until he saw Moony turn and run towards a very sad, yet pretty, young woman with short, spiky bubblegum pink hair and passionately kiss her. Nymphadora Tonks Lupin…that was Remus's wife! James, Sirius, and Lily just stared in shock for a short moment (having never seen Remus with anyone because of his 'furry little problem'), until Sirius let out a wolf whistle that seemed to bring everyone back to their senses.

Remus pulled back blushing, but still looking as happy as he had looked when it was the four Marauders at school with no war, Voldemort, or death hanging over their heads. James suddenly noticed that Remus no longer had any scars on his body, gray in his hair, or lines on his face. He was normal. He wasn't a werewolf or an outcast; he was just Remus John Lupin; Marauder, friend, husband, great wizard. James would never admit it out loud for fear of sounding like a little girl, but he felt his heart swell three sizes as he realized this.

"Er, guys, this is Tonks, my wife. Dora, this is James Potter, my best mate, and his wife, Lily, Harry's parents. And you know Sirius," Remus said.

Before either James or Lily had time to say 'Hello' to Tonks, a bluish light appeared next to them and before they knew it, James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus felt a jerk behind their navel, and they were in the Forbidden Forest.

* * *

After Harry killed and defeated Voldemort, the number of deaths went down drastically. In the 90something years on Earth that had passed from that moment, to when Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs were playing Quidditch, there had been only about 2 murders; both from revengeful Death Eaters that earned a lifetime in Azkaban.

James looked around now, and saw all of his friends and family. He saw Moony and Padfoot laughing, trying and failing to get Padfoot back on his broom. He looked at Moony and saw his young, happy, unscarred face who was no longer werewolf Moony; he was just Marauder Moony. Sirius, with his smiling gray eyes and shaggy black hair that gracefully fell in his face, would never look like someone that spent twelve years in Azkaban, lived life as a dog on the run for a couple years, and was locked in a dusty old house for another year. James saw Fred and George Weasley joking around, like usual. Through his hazel eyes, he saw his parents talking to Professor McGonagall; they had always gotten along well back on Earth.

He could make out Lily laughing lightly at something Snape had said, while Marlene and Alyssa were a little ways away from Snape and Lily, gasping for breath as they laughed at something Alyssa had said. There was Neville Longbottom, talking with his parents, Alice and Frank. When Neville had died and appeared at the Gate, he saw his parents, sane, normal, and beautiful, and broke down in tears. They had been inseparable for quite some time, as they had not gotten the chance to know each other on Earth; just like how Harry had not gotten to know his parents.

Hagrid and Charlie were off talking again; they had talked often since Charlie arrived, mostly about dragons. James saw Ginny and Tonks talking and looking like they were having a good time. James and Lily met Ginny not too long ago. From what they had heard and saw with their own eyes, they could not have picked a better wife for their son. _Harry…_To James, it seemed that Harry was the only one who wasn't there that James almost needed to be there.

James knew he should be glad for this; by this point, Harry should be well into his 90s. But yet, he couldn't help but miss his son. He wanted to play Quidditch with his son and see if he was really as good as everyone said he was (although James didn't doubt it). James wanted to hear Harry tell him about his years at Hogwarts, and to laugh at all of the mischievous doings Harry had gotten into his years there, and James his. James wanted to plan a prank on Padfoot with Harry, and do something fun with his son.

As James Potter looked around, he smiled. Almost everyone was there, happy and smiling. _Life was—er, the afterlife was good,_ thought James. _But yet…_

"Harry Potter, 102, old age," said the composed voice over the intercom. Everyone seemed to have frozen.

Bill and Fleur stopped snogging; Hermione and Ron stopped bickering over nothing besides the fact that that's what they do. (Lily and James also agreed that Ron and Hermione were perhaps the most loyal and perfect friends for Harry.) Mrs. Weasley stopped midsentence in half-heartedly reprimanding the twins; Percy stopped bragging to his wife, Audrey. "Mad-Eye" Moody and the Prewett brothers stopped their conversation, not even able to remember what they were talking about. Mr. Weasley and Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked around in shock, forgetting all about their conversation on how "aeroplanes" work. The Dumbledores looked around from where they were all sitting; Albus Dumbledore looking the most affected by the announcement.

"James!" a voice yelled. "James," shouted Lily, "It's Harry!"

James sped towards the ground, wishing his broom would go faster. It wasn't until James's feet hit the ground that the same thought seemed to have struck everybody else: Harry Potter is at the Gate.

James and Lily ran, faster than they had ever ran before, with all their friends and family behind them and strangers in front of them. James ran, off to truly meet his son for the first time.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is my very first fanfiction! I think it turned out pretty well (at least for a first timer), but I feel like there's more I can do to it. Agree or disagree? Love it or hate it? Review and tell me! Any type of criticism is good for me. :)**

**P.S. seriously, all you have to do is hit 'Review Story' and then say "good", "bad", "amazing", sucktastic!". I'm not all that picky.**

**Edit: I went through and changed just a few things. Mostly stuff I left out (like Lily's name being announced) and some words were switched around. It's not necessary to reread it, though! I am, however, SO ecstatic/thankful about the positive feedback I've gotten on this!**

**P.P.S. I am currently a beta. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! Thanks to all those who reviewed or added me in their favorites! Someone asked why Ron and Hermione died before Harry. Two reasons: 1. Harry did the most, saved the most, and risked the most. I figured he should get to live the most, right? and 2. It would kinda suck if Harry arrived Above and everyone's there but his best mates. I wanted everyone to be there, that way when Harry arrived, he was finally with EVERYONE. Except Luna. I left her out on purpose. I didn't really know what to write with her, plus she's still living a really long life. I expect it's the dirigible plums. ;)**

Chapter Two

Amid dozens of people, James could make out a single head of ink-colored hair sticking up in every direction. The messy jet-black hair, and the body it was attached to, was standing directly in a circle of people while everyone tried to squeeze their way in and shake hands with the Boy-Who-Lived, otherwise known as the Chosen One and the One-Who-Ended-It-All. Standing in the center of the crowd was Harry James Potter.

James felt like his heart had decided to jump up and land in his throat. Yet as nervous as he was, he was excited. James didn't care if he had to push his way through a jumble of people, he was going to see his son, and soon. Just as James put his foot forward and began to walk closer towards Harry, he felt a hand tug on his own.

"James," Lily half-whispered. "I think we should wait. Let all the people go first. Then when they're gone, we can _really_ meet Harry and there won't be someone standing off to the side trying to shake his hand."

James was about to open his mouth and say that was a ridiculous idea, he was not going to wait, and that these people were going to leave because he said so, but Sirius cut him off.

"Great idea, Lily-flower! I knew James had a good reason for fancying you back in school!" At this, James punched Sirius in the arm and Lily raised an eyebrow at Sirius. He just grinned and said, "Just kidding, Lils. There are many reasons why James (and I) love you. One of those being that without you, the whole wizarding world would probably be in ruins and Voldemort would have full power with no way of ever being stopped!" Sirius smiled and looked at Lily, hoping that she would think he was an innocent person who admired her and her greatness. Lily couldn't help but smile at this. James thought she was just smiling at the reminder of what her son had done, rather than what Sirius had said.

"Back to the point, we'll save the best for last! That means you and Prongs are gonna have to wait and be the very last. Sorry about that," he said, not sounding very sorry at all, but rather very excited. "Here, James, Lily, you guys stand behind the rest of us, then Harry can see all of us and after getting over the shock of seeing all of his dead friends, he'll be fully prepared to see his parents!"

Sirius didn't wait for an answer before he started to get everyone together. He put James and Lily in the back, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione took the front, and everyone else just stood around in no particular order.

After Dedalus Diggle had shaken Harry's hand for the seventh time, Harry turned and saw the next crowd of people waiting for him. But instead of looking at the crowd as if it was something he went through often and it'd be over soon (like he had with the past crowd), he looked at the second group of people with a smile on his face that clearly said he couldn't wait to see and hug every one of them.

"Harry!" Before he could make a move forward, Ginny ran towards Harry and threw her arms around him. Harry then kissed Ginny, briefly but passionately.

All of a sudden, cheers and whistles broke out behind them. James even heard Ron mutter, "Do they have to snog like that in front of me?"

"Oh honestly Ron, if you haven't gotten used to it by now," Hermione started to say.

"I have, they just—" Ron didn't get to finish his sentence because Harry was expectantly looking up at them and Hermione had ran ahead to give him a hug. James heard a laugh and a muffled "Hi, Hermione" through all of Hermione's bushy hair. After she pulled back, Ron was there to give Harry a hug and say, "Hey, mate."

Harry then started to hug plump little Mrs. Weasley and shake Mr. Weasley's hand. Unlike with the other crowd, Harry actually _wanted_ to talk to these people. So he did; he talked to every one of them.

At first, James was really interested in watching Harry tell Fred and George that the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes shop is the most popular shop in Diagon Alley. James laughed when Hagrid said, "All righ', Harry?" then picked Harry up and gave him one of his typical bone-crushing hugs. He couldn't help but snicker with the others when the twins started mocking Percy after he went up to Harry, shook his hand, and pompously said, "Ah, Harry. It is a pleasure to see you again. I hope your life went on well after I had died." Harry had to stifle back a laugh so he could say, "Yes, Percy. It was very nice."

James was paying attention when Harry met the Prewett brothers, his parents, and Lily's parents for the first time. James's attention was even grabbed when Professor McGonagall approached Harry with tears in her eyes and hugged him. After that though, James got increasingly impatient. He had to wait 100 years on Earth for his son to finally arrive at the Gate, and now he had to wait for all of these people to talk to _his_ son! James wanted to tap his foot and start to annoyingly count the seconds going by like he had when he was little and his parents weren't moving fast enough.

Lily, on the other hand, seemed to become increasingly more nervous. She started out standing on her toes, trying to see over everyone's heads to see Harry, but then stopped looking and became more interested in her feet. Then she started fidgeting. She was tapping her foot, chewing on her lip, and wringing her hands, all at the same time! At that point, James knew she wasn't just nervous; she was scared. Lily never fidgeted before tests or exams at Hogwarts; she would be nervous, but she never fidgeted. She had fidgeted like this only a few times before. One of the times being when they had gone to St. Mungo's to see if Lily was pregnant, even though they hadn't wanted to bring a baby into a world full of such evil at the time. She had been so nervous that day, it was bordering fear.

James, being the loving and supporting husband he knew he was, moved closer to Lily and put his arm around her. "It'll be OK," he murmured. "He's our son. He's got to love us! Besides, who wouldn't?" He grinned at Lily, hoping to get her to laugh.

Lily just turned and looked at him. James started to panic. He was never good with feeling stuff, and now was _not_ the time for Lily to be scared! James looked at Lily, the wheels in his head turning, trying to find a way to save the situation, and fast, but he didn't need to. Lily smiled.

"Yeah, we are pretty great, aren't we?" she said smiling at James.

"Well our son is the one who defeated the darkest wizard of all time. I'd say we'd have to be," said James with a smirk.

Lily just rolled her eyes, but James saw the corners of her lips turning up.

"Wotcher, Harry," said Tonks with a wink.

"Tonks!" Harry shouted out, throwing his arms around the woman with the heart-shaped face for a hug.

James gulped; he hadn't noticed that Harry had made his way through so many people. It seemed that only Sirius and Remus were standing in front of James and Lily. He was doing a very good job of it, too. Somehow he had managed to shield both of Harry's parents from his line of sight. James was still able to peek over Sirius's shoulder, though, and see what was going on.

"Hi, Harry," said Remus, giving Harry a hug.

Harry looked up at Lupin with apprehension in his face.

"Remus…I'm…so sorry," Harry started to say. "What I said in Grimmauld Place, I was angry. I wanted you to go back to Teddy and Tonks. I shouldn't have said that stuff, I was just—"

"Harry, stop. It's OK," said Moony, cutting Harry off. "You were right; I was being cowardly. I thought when we made you godfather, you knew that I wasn't mad at you."

"I know, but after you guys had died I never got the chance to…" Harry trailed off as he seemed unable to finish his sentence.

"Then it's settled. Now, tell me all about my son," said Remus with a smile.

James watched as Harry told Tonks and Moony about Teddy, his wife, Victoire, their kids, and Lupin's three great-grandkids. Harry looked older than James had seen him in the Forbidden Forest when he was brought back by the Resurrection Stone. But then again, when someone arrives Here, he looks the way he did during the happiest time of his life. James assumed that watching all of your friends and family-like members die and risk your life to destroy 'the Dark Lord' probably wouldn't qualify as the happiest time in your life. If he had to guess though, James would probably say that the happiest time of Harry's life seemed to be about 7 or 8 years after that. _Probably after he had married Ginny and was Head Auror_, thought James.

Although, Harry Potter still looked generally the same as he did when he was 17. His hair was still uncontrollably messy and the lightning shaped scar was still on his forehead. His eyes were the bright green James had first seen on the Hogwarts Express on the little redhead girl in his compartment. Compared to James, Harry was a little taller, but still within an inch or two of his dad. His face was the most different. Not his eyes, nor his mouth or nose. Last time James had seen Harry, his face had been full of pain, confusion, loss, and hopelessness. Now, as James looked over Sirius to see Harry laugh at a story he was telling Tonks and Lupin, Harry's face was filled with happiness, liberation, and a sense of peace.

"Alright, alright. I think you three have talked long enough. I wanna see my godson!" Sirius strode forward.

Harry paused for a second and just stared at Sirius. Then his face seemed to have lit up like a little kid on Christmas. "Sirius."

Harry rushed forward and gave Sirius a hug. James couldn't hear very well, as Sirius had moved forward as well, but he saw Harry mutter something and heard Sirius laugh a bark-like laugh.

"Er, Sirius," Sirius let go of Harry to see what his godson was going to say. "I don't know if anyone told you but…your flying motorcycle got wrecked.

Sirius's jaw dropped. "My motorcycle is…._gone_?"

"Er, yeah. James, he seemed to inherit all of the mischievousness and recklessness you and my dad had." Sirius grinned at this. "Well, he snuck the bike out the summer before his seventh year. He said he 'fancied a ride'. James encountered the Muggle police, a brick building, and his mum. Flying bike or not, it didn't stand a chance."

Ginny stuck her tongue out at Harry while everyone else just laughed.

"Ah well. It had a good life. What about the Map?"

Beside him, James saw Lily move forward a little, but then draw back. James looked around. Again, he realized he and Lily were the only ones who hadn't talked to Harry yet. They were next.

James tried to swallow, but he felt like he was trying to swallow one of Hagrid's rock cakes whole. _Come on, man! You're James Potter_, he thought to himself. _Don't be nervous! This was what you were waiting for for a long time. _

Even though James had thought about this moment often and had even tried to calm Lily down, he felt like he had just eaten five Fizzing Whizzbees, yet only his insides were levitating.

_It's just your son_, James told himself. _Just your son that you've never met. But defied Lord Voldemort at the age of one. And probably had the most adventures and attracted the most trouble out of every student in Hogwarts's history. He only killed Voldemort for good at the age of 17 and then became the Head Auror. Oh Merlin…_

James looked at Lily, hoping she could now be the one to give a reassuring smile. Except the only thing she was focused on was Harry, as she watched him with a serene smile on her face.

_Great. Now I'm the one who's a nervous mess._

"The Marauder's Map is still good," Harry replied. "James knicked it from my desk his fourth year and it has helped generations of Hogwarts students cause trouble everywhere."

All three of the Marauders smiled proudly.

"Great son you have there," Sirius said honestly. "Except I always thought it should have been Sirius James Potter instead of James Sirius Potter," he added thoughtfully.

James couldn't help but snort at the ridiculous things Sirius was saying. Upon hearing the snort, Harry looked up and noticed his parents standing there.

James felt his insides clench with fear and nervousness. The smile on Harry's face disappeared. James started to panic. Was Harry angry at them? Would he rather hug and talk to his old professors, friends, and godfather than his own parents?

Then a little voice in the back of James's mind (who James did not often listen to) told him he was being an idiot and to look more closely.

James did. He saw that Harry did not look angry or annoyed, just…shocked. It felt as if they had stood there looking at each other forever. And if they did, it wouldn't matter, because they had eternity up there.

Harry looked from Lily to James and back again. James noticed that Harry's gaze on Lily was a little longer than his gaze on his father. Harry looked at Lily like he could stand there forever just to look at her, but he still wouldn't be satisfied. He looked at Lily the way he had when he was in the Forbidden Forest, walking with them towards Voldemort.

James smiled to himself. He knew his wife was very pretty; he needed no one to tell him this twice. James had felt the exact same way after he had arrived on the Hogwarts Express his fourth year to see a very different, and very pretty, Lily Evans. James knew the two situations were much different, though. At that time, James had felt shock and awe that the annoying little girl who answered every question in class had turned so very pretty over one summer. Harry was seeing his mother in person for the first time since he was one (minus their ghost-like-but-not-really selves in the Forest). But James figured the two feelings were probably similar: amazement at Lily.

A sob escaped from Lily as she ran forward and flung her arms around her son. "Harry!"

Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her and said, "Hi, Mum."

James was never one to be left out, so he dashed forward and hugged Harry as well. Harry looked up, saw James, and smiled even wider as he said, "Hi, Dad."

James wasn't entirely too sure of what the right thing to say to one's son in a situation like this is. So, like usual, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"We are so… very proud of you. We couldn't have ever asked for a better son."

Lily seemed to have lost it then. James knew she was always brave and tough. After everything she had been through, how could she have not been? From entering the Wizarding world as a Muggleborn where Pure-blood mania was quickly growing, her best friend turning into a Death Eater, the strained (or more appropriately, lack of) relationship she had with her once-best-friend sister, and the Order missions, James knew Lily was strong; she wasn't one of those emotional women who cried daily. But like every normal human being, she did cry. She had cried when she found out her mum and dad had died in a car crash and when James's dad died on an Auror mission. She cried when Marlene and Alyssa died, and that one day James won't ever forget where she just broke down and said she couldn't take any of it anymore. 'It' being the war, the losses, and the loneliness of being locked in your house for fear of your son's life.

So when Lily started openly crying while hugging Harry, James was surprised, but not shocked. He knew that they were tears of happiness. He even felt them tugging at his eyes, waiting for the moment where they could fall down his face. He could even feel a little burning in his throat, one similar to when he drank firewhiskey, as he tried to swallow yet keep it all together.

"I missed you, Mum and Dad," muttered Harry. It was hard to hear since Harry's voice was slightly muffled since the three of them were all pressed together hugging, but James and Lily heard.

James looked down beside him to see the tears cascading down Lily's face. He looked next to him to see Harry's eyes shining with tears that refused to fall.

James wasn't too sure what to feel right then. All he knew was that this was his family. After everything the three of them had been through, they were finally able to be together again. They could be a family now.

At this thought, James had to remove his right arm from around Harry so he could take off his glasses and wipe his eyes that now looked golden from the tears.

"Aw, come on, Prongs!" Sirius interjected. "Whatever happened to the saying you made up? What was it…? Oh yes, 'Real Marauder men never cry'?"

Everyone laughed, and James felt Lily and Harry shake with their laughter.

"Actually, Padfoot, that only applied to you and the time when you had to fight back tears after you were turned down for the first time, _ever_, by Alyssa. In front of the whole school," James replied with a smirk.

Sirius's jaw dropped while more laughter ensued. He then gave a cocky grin and said to James, "You're going to pay for that, Mister Prongs."

"I think I can handle whatever you have, Mister Padfoot."

James looked to Harry to give him a wink and in doing so noticed that Harry's face was alight with a smile and his vibrant green eyes were shining. From what Moony had told James in private, Sirius was never very happy back on Earth. James assumed that Harry had never seen Padfoot act this way and was probably amazed by it. At first James felt saddened and then angered by the thought that his son had never gotten to know the real Sirius, his very own godfather and his dad's best mate, but then he beamed at the thought that they had infinity to show Harry the true Marauders.

Harry noticed James staring at him and quizzically looked at James. James just looked at Harry for a quick moment before they both grinned. James had felt as though he had never been happier. He had his wife, son, family, and friends all together. What else could he need?

"Come on, Harry," said James. "We should show you around, even though there's not much. Except the Quidditch pitch; that's the best! I'll have to see if you're really as good of as everyone says you are." He gave Harry a cheeky grin.

"OK. Then I can see if you're as bad as everyone says you are," replied Harry with a serious expression.

"Wha-? Me? Bad? _At Quidditch_?" James spluttered, not even able to form a coherent sentence. _Who told Harry that I'm a horrible Quidditch player and let him think that for his whole life?_

"Just kidding, Dad," said Harry, looking almost identical to his father with the same cheeky grin on his face that James had given Harry a few moments before.

Everyone sniggered at the look on James's face.

Only Sirius and Remus had shocked looks on their faces.

"James was just tricked…by his own son…"

"I know…"

"About _Quidditch_."

Then the two adults burst out laughing. James glared at them.

Everyone had stopped laughing after a few moments, everyone except Sirius and Remus. James had pointedly glared at the two for a couple moments, but they seemed oblivious to the harsh look. They were too busy clutching their sides, trying not to fall over. The only words that could be made out were, "funny", "Prongs", "his face", "Lil' Prongs", and "priceless".

"Oi! SHUT IT!" James finally had to yell.

Moony and Padfoot stood up, wiping the tears from their eyes and still chuckling. James honestly had no idea what was so funny.

"Sorry, Prongs," said Sirius, "but your face! And you usually never get a joke pulled on you, _especially_ about Quidditch."

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled James.

James heard Harry laugh and all of his irritation vanished. He turned to Harry, drew himself up to his full height, and said, "So you think you're a better Quidditch player than me, eh?"

"Oh honestly, James," said Lily while giving an exasperated expression towards Tonks.

"Er," Harry started to say a little nervously, but then he seemed to grow more confident and said with a smile, "Maybe, maybe not."

James felt his lips pull up into a smile as he got a very proud and happy feeling inside of him. He didn't feel like he was truly meeting his son for the first time; he felt like he was meeting his best friend again after a really long vacation.

"You're on, Potter," replied James with a (hopefully) intimidating look.

"Boys," he heard Ginny whisper and Hermione giggle behind him. He could almost see them rolling their eyes and laughing.

"Last one there's a flobber-" James started to say as he was beginning to run to the pitch, but he was cut off by Lily saying, "James!"

James turned to face Lily, who was looking quite irritated with him.

"James, Harry _just_ got here! We haven't seen him for over 80 years on Earth, and even then that was only for a couple of moments to walk him to Voldemort! Do you think you can stay off your broom long enough so we can all just talk? It's infuriating to have to hear about your son's life through everyone else!" It looked like Lily was going to cry again.

James realized Lily was right and sheepishly said so.

Behind him, he heard Fred, George, and Ron Weasley snickering at him.

James turned around to glower at them, but Fred and George just looked up and started innocently whistling while Ron turned to Hermione and suggested they go for a walk.

The three Potters then started to walk forward with Lily on the left, Harry in the middle and James on the right.

"Harry, I want to hear all about your family! How's James, Albus, and Lily? How many grandkids do you have? Great-grandkids? Wait! First, I want to hear about how you proposed to Ginny. Hopefully, you put a lot of thought into it, but I'm sure however you did it, it was absolutely—" Lily rambled.

"Ugh, no," said James, cutting her off. "I wanna hear about the exciting stuff! Like when you flew a car to Hogwarts and landed in the Whomping Willow or when you broke into Gringotts and rode off on a dragon! Better yet, the time when you—"

"James, no. He can't just tell us all the exciting parts and leave everything else out!"

"Well he can't just skip ahead 23 years and tell us about his proposal," James said. The word 'proposal' ended up sounding like how one would say 'flesh-eating slug'.

Harry looked back and forth from his mum to his dad with an amused expression on his face.

"How about I start from the beginning?" Harry suggested with a smile on his face.

Lily and James exchanged a glance before Lily quickly looked away. She hated not getting the right answer first in school, a habit that seemed to stay. "Er, yes. That would be a good place to start."

"But start at the part where you set a snake on your fat cousin, Dudley!" James said enthusiastically.

Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled. Harry grinned.

James knew that it didn't really matter where Harry started, what Harry said, or how long it took him to say it. They had forever to talk and catch up, after all.

The End.

**Thanks for reading! I really hope you liked it! I would really appreciate it if you DID read it, review. If you DID like it, review. If you read it AND didn't like it, review and I'll try and make my next ones better! Remember, reviews are the only way us writers can get better and know we're doing the right thing!**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, and favoriting! :)**

**Edit 1/2/12: I'm reposting this, although nothing was changed except my A/Ns and a couple of words were switched around. There's no reason to reread this, unless you want to! Sorry to anyone who gets an alert regarding this expecting a new chapter!**


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